The incidence of HSV has risen 30 percent since the 1970s. One in four adults is infected with HSV, and there are an estimated one million new cases of HSV infection every year. There are two forms of herpes, commonly known as HSV-1 and HSV-2. Although HSV-1 is frequently associated with cold sores and HSV-2 with genital herpes, the viruses have many similarities and can infect either area of the body. There is a high degree of homology between the sequence of HSV-1 and HSV-2, the overall incidence of identical aligned nucleotides being superior to 80% in protein-coding regions.
Individuals that carry HSV-1 and/or HSV-2 can be symptomatic (SYMP) and suffer a wide range of HSV conditions (e.g., cold sore, ocular lesion, corneal blindness, encephalitis, cervical cancer, throat infections, rash, meningitis, nerve damage, and genital herpes) on a recurrent basis throughout their lives. Many HSV-infected individuals are asymptomatic (ASYMP), yet frequently and spontaneously shed reactivated virus in their body fluids (e.g., saliva, tears, and vaginal secretions). The percentage of HSV-infected individuals who are not cognizant of their own infection is over 50%, largely because these individuals either do not experience any HSV conditions or because they dismiss HSV conditions as merely annoying itch, rash, cold sore, etc. HSV may be treated in a palliative manner with, e.g., acyclovir and related compounds, but there is no cure for HSV infection. Therefore, individuals cannot rid themselves of of HSV once infected. Accordingly, clinically effective treatments for the inhibition of HSV infection and/or amelioration of HSV conditions are needed.